🍽️ Qiaojiao Beef Soup

Beef offal clear soup, Leshan supper.

Qiaojiao Beef Soup is a clear-broth offal stew of Leshan, Sichuan, associated with Suji town. A milky broth is simmered from beef bones and old hen, in which cuts of beef head, tripe, tongue, liver and intestine are blanched together with white radish and celery. The soup is clean, savoury and faintly herbal, the offal tender and free of gaminess, the radish sweet and saturated with stock. Traditionally it is eaten with a small dish of chili powder or pepper-salt dip, alternating sips of broth and bites of meat. The name is said to come from early diners sitting on street benches with legs dangling. A Leshan late-night staple, it is also regarded as a gentle, stomach-warming dish, especially welcome in cooler months.